Jade Cargill Sides With Bianca Belair & Naomi Vs. Damage CTRL In WWE SmackDown Debut
A storm has touched down on "WWE SmackDown," and her name is Jade Cargill. The former AEW TBS Champion made her first appearance as an official member of the "SmackDown" women's division Friday night, and while her presence on the show initially seemed finished following an in-ring promo, by the end of the evening, she had struck fear into the hearts of Damage CTRL.
Cargill made her first appearance as an official member of the "SmackDown" women division Friday night. After remarking that it was "about damn time," Cargill announced that she had officially signed a "SmackDown" contract with Nick Aldis, who was present in the ring to introduce her. Cargill acknowledged the greatness of all the women in the locker room, but swiftly reminded the Connecticut crowd that nobody was on her level. She referred to herself once again as "the headline" and "a once in a lifetime superstar". Following Cargill's announcement, the camera shifted to a backstage interview with Dakota Kai, Kairi Sane, and Asuka of Damage CTRL. Kai expressed her exasperation with Cargill's instant popularity, and remarked that Cargill has done nothing but "stand there."
Later in the night, Kai, Sane, and Asuka led an all-out assault on Bianca Belair, who had just defeated Kai in "SmackDown's" main event, and Naomi, who came out to assist Belair. Belair and Naomi were thoroughly exhausted and outnumbered before Cargill appeared, walking down to ringside with quiet confidence oozing off of her. Damage CTRL surrounded the lone Cargill, but soon found themselves overwhelmed as Cargill singlehandedly flattened all opposing parties. The show closed out with a shot of Cargill, Belair, and Naomi standing tall in the ring with the WrestleMania 40 sign in the background. A six-women tag match between Damage CTRL and Cargill, Belair, and Naomi at WrestleMania has been heavily speculated, but nothing has been made official as of this writing.
Cargill made headlines last year when she officially signed a multi-year contract with WWE. Despite signing in September 2023, Cargill didn't actually make her WWE in-ring debut until the women's Royal Rumble match in January 2024, and hasn't wrestled since that match.